TUG #2



I wanted my second tugboat to look similar to the first only a little older, more weathered and stripped of salvageable parts.. I started with an unopened kit that I found on eBay.


Since I wanted a more weathered look I decided to use real wood for the deck. I thought it would give the tug a more distressed look. I ripped a short length of ¾” fir into thin strips. I used a straight edge and a knife to cut the strips into boards. Cutting them this way made them uneven and slightly different widths. Then I stained the wood with a mixture of black ink and alcohol.




I used the deck that came with the kit as a pattern and traced the outline on to a manila file folder. I coated outlined area with Elmer’s Glue. Staring at the center of the deck I laid the boards out until I covered the outline with the boards.



After the deck dried I put the deck from the kit on top and glued blocks of wood in the hole where the cabin fits so that I would be able to align it and have something to glue to. I used the deck as a template to cut the new wood deck. I put it in the haul for final fitting and made sure the cabin would line up on the blocks.




I thought that a taller smoke stack would make the tug look a older than the first,

A piece of PVC pipe seemed to be the perfect size for a replacement. I cut it to the length I wanted and ran my tubing cutter around the middle to score a line to glue a strip of plastic to add some detail to the stack. I fitted the tube to the base.



For the detail on top of the stack I glued it to a piece of styrene, then cut the hole out and filed the outside edge to shape. I wrapped a band of plastic under that and a thinner band around the middle along the line I scribed with the tubing cutter. Just a little more height on the stack made notable difference.




I glued the haul and cabins together and cut all the doors open. I used the same technique to add grain and texture to the haul as I did on the first tug. Only a little bit heaver on this one than the first. With the basic sub assemblies done I started replacing parts on the deck with ones that I scratch built.



Starting with some scraps of plastic left over from other models and some parts from a portable CD player I began building a new wench and the post at the bow. I cut out a base from some sheet diamond plate and punched out some circles with a hollow punch.


The circles of plastic are stacked and drilled and a short length of plastic tubing put through the hole. An added cap and a piece of plastic rod through the hole in the tube and it looks like a bow post. The post that came with the kit is a double post and shorter.

Sheet plastic was cut out for sides of the wench and holes for the shafts. [ . I used a pounce wheel along the edge to make some holes for some visual detail. With the shaft in place, for alignment, the front and back were glued to the sides. Some bits of plastic filed to shape and fitted together on a piece of plastic rod for the top detail.
The front and back were filed down even with the sides and a top glued on. Then holes drilled for the other shafts. With the shafts in place I glued on short sections of different diameters of tubing and gears from a CD player. Some round pieces of plastic were glued on to make the wench look like it was missing parts.



Wires with balls of white glue on the end were made for the control levers.


I wasn’t too worried about the fit and finish since it will be covered with rust. But, its finished except for some minor spot sanding.

Circles of plastic were punched out with a hollow punch and two lengths of tubing cut to make up the cleat behind the wench. The larger circles glued to a strip of plastic. Then the tubes positioned on top with a rod through them. A drop of glue inside both tubes and caps placed on top.




To replace the hatches for the rope lockers I punched holes in sheet plastic with a hollow punch. Then rough cut them to shape. I punched the hatches out of sheet aluminum. I aligned the holes in the plastic and glued them together with Elmer’s Glue. With them glued together I filed all 4 to the same size and then pulled them apart. For the handles on the hatch covers I drilled holes and looped wire through them. And, glued them with super glue. To simulate a hinge I formed wire and glued it to the other side. The hatches will be attached to the base when they are in position on the deck.






With all the components for the deck complete I mocked everything up to see how it would look and then did the final prep on all the parts for paint.





All the parts were primed with Floquil Gray Primer. The metal parts were given a coat of Floquil Roof Brown, Followed by Rust and Weathered Black. The haul was sprayed with rust along the gunnels and a mist of black along the bottom.



The cabin was given a liberal wash with a mixture of alcohol and black ink. A haphazard dry brushing with off white acrylic paint was applied after the ink wash dried. When the white had dried I did the same thing with barn red. Then softened the colors with a small wire brush.






I wanted to give the cabin a bit of a different look from the first tug, so I decided to add a visor over the front windows. I traced the outline of the cabin on an index card and drew a line inside to allow for the offset of the roof. I used a compass to mark the width that the visor would be. This was cut out and clued to a piece of copper with spray adhesive. I cut the copper out with scissors then made notches so it would fit flush against the cabin. I heated the copper with a torch to soften it, making it easy to form against the cabin.






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The visor mounted just under the roof with a bit of minor trimming. A heavy coat of Floquil Rust was brushed on and sprinkled with powdered rust that I made from steel wool.





I replaced all the railings with ones that I fabricated out of brass and steel wire. They are thinner then the ones that came with the kit. The railings on the back roof of the cabin are slightly shorter then on the first tug. The railings that run along the side of the cabin were attached with twisted wire









While the paint was drying on the railings, I made the wood part of the running lights on top of the cabin from left over wood that I used on the deck. I left the lights off.




All the items on the deck were mounted with clear silicone. I use this for two reasons. First, it’s very flexible. If the model is handled or bumped the parts will move a little and not snap off as with a hard glue. The second reason is that it’s so forgiving. If it gets in the wrong place its easily removed after its dry and usually won’t harm the finish.



I gave the railings a second coat of rust and sprinkled them with powered rust. I added a tube for the whistle in front of the smoke stack and did more weathering on the stack and base.


I assembled the cabin completely then mounted it to the deck with silicone.


With the tug fully I touched up areas with Floquil Rust and Grimy Black. Then did some washes over different areas to bring out detail and tone down some of the brighter rust color.





The last thing was to add rust running down the haul. I use Windsor & Newton oil colors. Burnt sienna and raw umber are put on at the same time but not mixed together. I put the color on thinned with turpentine, then brush across it with a soft dry brush to soften the color




A little more work than the first tug. Nothing was very difficult and it was a fairly quick build. I’m happy with the results, it turned out the way I pictured it.




Both tugs together.